Republican lawmakers continued their push to abandon diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) policies at the University of Wisconsin System and state agencies in a public hearing on Wednesday after state audits showed the UW System and state agencies failed to track millions of dollars spent on DEI.
The audits, triggered by the outcome of a 2019 executive order from Gov. Tony Evers, requiring each state agency to create and monitor DEI plans with the goal of addressing employment barriers, estimated that UW spent over $40 million on offices with duties pertaining to DEI and approximately $12.5 million in salary costs for positions with DEI job titles.
Sen. Eric Wimberger, R-Oconto, the co-chair of the committee, said the audits expose the “waste” and “unconstitutionality” of “rebranded discrimination.”
University of Wisconsin-Madison Chancellor Jennifer Mnookin and UW System President Jay Rothman both defended UW System DEI policies.
“We are and we remain committed to trying to ensure that all of our students and employees get the chance to succeed, and we want to be a place that welcomes students from all walks of life, all forms of experience as well as diversity of thought and perspective,” Mnookin said.
There is no shared definition of DEI between UW institutions. The audit focused on a range of policies enacted during the tenure of three UW System presidents, Rothman said.
During her testimony, Wimberger asked Mnookin if it’s true that UW-Madison still has 60 race-based scholarships.
Although race is no longer a factor for UW admissions because of the U.S. Supreme Court decision overturning race-based affirmative action, that case does not speak on the matter of scholarships but race is not used in the way that it was before for scholarships, Mnookin said.
“There are some scholarships that exist under a legislative rubric for minority retention,” Mnookin said. “Race is specifically mentioned in those statutes.”
For need-based scholarship programs like Bucky’s Pell Pathway, race is no longer a consideration, Mnookin said.
As Republicans openly disfavored DEI initiatives, calling DEI programs “disgusting” and “racist,” even saying they were encouraged by the lack of implementation of Evers’ executive order, Democrats expressed their support for DEI during the hearing.
“Diversity, equity and inclusion is not meant to be racist,” Rep. Sequanna Taylor, D-Milwaukee, said. “It is meant to address things that have been systematically racial and equity within systems for years.”
The audit reports came in as President Donald Trump and his administration push to eliminate federal support for DEI initiatives, targeting what they describe as racially discriminatory policies. Trump has cited the UW-Madison among 50 universities under federal investigation for alleged racial bias tied to DEI programming.
Clara Strecker is the state news editor for The Daily Cardinal. She previously served as copy chief. Clara has written in-depth on the 2025 Wisconsin Supreme Court race, abortion rights and protests. She will spend the summer interning with WisPolitics. Follow her on X at @clara_strecker.
